"There is only one power that determines the course of history . . . the power of ideas." — Ayn Rand

Monday, August 5, 2013

Fed Up With the Political Status Quo? Discover the “Unknown Ideal”

In a recent DETAILSinterview with Rob Tannenbaum, actor Woody Harrelson said “I tend to not like politicians, because it's a subtle form of prostitution. Or maybe not so subtle.” When asked, "So you dislike Democrats as much as you dislike the GOP?" Harrelson said:

It's all synchronized swimming to me. They all kneel and kiss the ring. Who's going to take on the oil industry or the medical industry? . . . Corporations like Grumman are so powerful that—I don't know, is this the kind of shit we want to talk about? It's making me depressed.

Later, Harrelson said, "The government may change faces from time to time, but it's not like we fight wars for democracy—we fight wars for capitalism and for oil."

Harrelson seems to believe that we live in a capitalist society. But the corrupt political-economic system he laments is not capitalism. It is actually a mixed economy; a mixture of government controls and freedom, of socialism and capitalism. Contrary to widely held belief, in a mixed economy—where politics and economics are merged, rather than separated—it is not business that corrupts politics, but politics that corrupts business, leading to rampant cronyism, including so-called "crony capitalism." Ask yourself this: What would become of the "power" of "corporations like Grumman" if politicians didn't have the coercive power to tax, regulate, and play favorites in the economy?

Harrelson's solution?: In answer to a question about his support for the legalization of marijuana, Harrelson said, "The deeper issue is, what does it mean to live in a free country?" He later answered his own question: "I'm an anarchist, I guess you could say. I think people could be just fine looking after themselves."

Harrelson is thoroughly confused about how to achieve "a free country," though. Anarchy means no government. But, you do need a government—precisely to protect people's right to "look after themselves"; i.e., to protect individual rights. A proper government protects its citizens from the initiation of force by domestic criminals and foreign enemies, prosecutes fraud, protects the sanctity of contracts and property rights, and mediates civil disputes through the courts. A social system with a government that protects individual rights but otherwise leaves everyone free to produce, trade, and live their lives is precisely "what . . . it mean[s] to live in a free country."

When Harrelson endorsed the idea of people “looking after themselves," he unwittingly endorsed the essence of the very system he apparently denigrates. When people are free to look after themselves—or, to be more precise, to enjoy the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—that is capitalism; which, sadly, exists nowhere around us in anything approaching an authentic form.

In his disgust with the mixed economy status quo, Harrelson has a lot of company. But anarchy, which is essentially mob warfare leading to dictatorship, is not the answer.

The alternative Harrelson appears to be groping for is what Ayn Rand called "the unknown ideal," laissez-faire capitalism. The basic principle of social organization embodied by capitalism, and encompassing the political realm, is the banishment of the initiation of physical force from human relationships. It's truly the system of peaceful coexistence, because the government is forbidden to act as an instrument of legalized criminality. It’s time for Harrelson and the many others like him who are disgusted with the direction America is going—but who have grown cynical about the possibility of an ideal alternative—to discover laissez-faire capitalism.Related Reading:On Capitalism's "Conflict of Interest"Why Capitalism Needs a Moral Sanction

About Me

Greetings and welcome to my blog. My name is Michael A. (Mike) LaFerrara. I sometimes use the pen or "screen" name "Mike Zemack" or "Zemack" in online activism, such as posted comments on articles. “Zemack” stands for the first letters of the names of my six grandchildren. I was born in 1949 in New Jersey, U.S.A., where I retired from a career in the plumbing, building controls, and construction industries, and still reside with my wife of 45 years. The purpose of my blog is the discussion of a wide range of topics relating to human events. My analysis is informed by the principles of Objectivism, the philosophy of reason and independence originated by Ayn Rand.

As Rand observed: “The professional intellectual is the field agent of the army whose commander-in-chief is the philosopher.” I am certainly not the philosopher. But neither am I a field agent, or general. I am a foot soldier in that Objectivist army that fights for an individualist society in which every person can live in dignified sovereignty, by his own reasoned judgment, for his own sake, in that state of peaceful coexistence with his fellow man that only capitalist political and economic freedom can provide. While I am a fully committed Objectivist, my opinions are based on my own understanding of Objectivism, and should not be taken as definitive “Objectivist positions.” For the full story of my journey toward Objectivism, see my Introduction.

One final introductory note: I strongly recommend Philosophy, Who Needs it, which highlights the inescapable importance of philosophy in every individual's life. I can be reached at mal.atlas@comcast.net. Thanks, Mike LaFerrara.

Recommended Essays/Videos

Quotes I Like

Let me give you a tip on a clue to men’s characters: the man who damns money has obtained it dishonorably; the man who respects it has earned it. Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.—Francisco d'Anconia

I love getting older...I get to grow up and learn things. Madalyn, 5 years old, Montesorri student, and my grand-daughter

The best thing one can do for the poor is to not become one of them. Author Unknown

Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed. Francis Bacon

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Ronald Reagan

Thinking is hard work. If it weren't, more people would do it. Henry Ford

Intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom; political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom; a free mind and a free market are corollaries. Ayn Rand